titan_uranus

The Buckley situation plus Darcy Moore I think makes them a very different side this week compared to Queen's Birthday.

That was big for Fremantle's finals chances. They have Carlton and Hawthorn as their next two, which could get them to 9-7. But they then have a five match stretch of Geelong, Sydney, Richmond, Brisbane and West Coast. Even if they win Round 23 vs St Kilda, with their relatively poor percentage they're going to have to go 3-2 through that run. Only Sydney is away from Perth though. Point is, they are going to be going hard against Geelong, Richmond, Brisbane and West Coast, and if they're a serious contender, that can only be good news for us.

That's ended up as expected. I like it, happy to have a Saturday afternoon game and for Burgoyne's 400th to get Saturday night exposure. Sets us up for a five or six day break into a prime time Round 17 slot against Port: whatever break it is, will be the same for Port.

Hold on a minute. What's with this whole "injuries are hurting Richmond" thing? How many best 22 players was Richmond missing when they went into last night's game? By my count, three: Astbury, Lynch and Nankervis. Most clubs are missing that many or more (I know we're not, but that's not the point here). They just stank last night. There's no excuse for kicking 2 goals in an entire match. It's abysmal. Perversely though, I can see this performance sparking a renewed focus from them. How do you feel about this post now, @dazzledavey36, after Ryan became the first player in four years to fail to register a single possession on debut? I reckon park the Austin Bradtke hate.

I have a very similar feeling today as I did going into the Dogs game. Coming off a disappointing loss, up against a side who plays in a way that in theory should scare us with fast and attacking football. An opening quarter like the one we put up against the Dogs will do wonders for my nerves (although IIRC Essendon have fought back from a few deficits this year). We know how big this game is. Starting off the second half of the season with a confidence-boosting win, in a week where Geelong and Richmond have already lost, and two of Port, Sydney, West Coast and the Dogs are also going to lose, is huge. But more importantly, we all want to see us rebound.

It's not a gripe about us not getting prime time slots. It's about the general football population being given games on TV featuring the same sides all the time. It's just a heap of Geelong and Richmond. It's an interesting and in my view negative side effect to the rolling fixture, which almost guarantees the same sides playing all the prime time games in the second half of the year.

Meanwhile how is it 6pm on Friday and we don't know when teams are playing next week? Doesn't the length of a break between games influence how a team plans its rehab/training schedule for the week?

Yep. So it's entirely feasible that in the 11 games from Rounds 13-23, Geelong will be on a Thursday or Friday night in all bar four of them. Which will be 10 total given they had three Friday nights before the bye. Meanwhile Richmond tonight plays its 7th Thurs/Fri night with its 8th next week.

If true, that will mean Geelong will have been on Thursday or Friday night for five out of six straight weeks (Rounds 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18). It's of course somewhat possible their Round 17 game vs Carlton will end up in prime time too. And then in Round 19 Geelong plays Richmond, another major Friday night contender. The rolling fixture presents good opportunities but one of the clear drawbacks is that if each week the AFL feels determined to prioritise the top sides, the same sides are going to get all of the prime time matches. The way it's shaping, we're going to have had Geelong on Thurs/Fri night for something like six out of seven straight weeks). Richmond is also likely to feature a lot: Friday night tonight, Thursday night next week, then games vs Collinwood, Brisbane and Geelong, all of which you can easily see being in prime time.

Source for either of the bolded bits? Previously you argued AZ was being phased out and that supported your argument. If it wasn't already clear, the commentary this week about AZ being phased out is an acknowledgement that by October Australia's over 60 population will have been fully vaccinated, meaning there will be no more use for AZ. it is not a commentary about AZ being phased out of use for people for whom it can otherwise be used.

Hi Mason, how are you? Happy to be selected in the 22 again? Not sure what you're doing on Demonland before the game though.

Not with Adelaide v Brisbane on Saturday. Radio will want a Melbourne Saturday afternoon game, not Adelaide v Brisbane.

Looks like this: Thurs GC v Rich Fri Geel v Ess Sat day either us or Haw v Port Sat twi Ade v Bris Sat night Freo v Carl Sat night 2 either us or Haw v Port Sun early Sydney v West Coast Sun day Coll v St Kilda Sun twilight Dogs v North Last question is whether we're the Sat night game or whether they give it to Hawthorn v Port (Burgoyne's 400th, and my bet).

GC rarely plays Sunday home games, I think in Queensland they like the Saturday twilight/night spots so I would expect us to be in that slot for that game. Could easily mean Sunday vs Hawthorn, 6-day break to Saturday vs GC, 6-day break again to Friday vs Dogs.

Can't see it happening, too tight a turnaround for Carlton. I agree, it's more that the concept of a 5-day break isn't going to stop the AFL if it decides that's what it needs to do. I'm fairly sure we'll be Saturday, whether afternoon or night, with Collingwood v St Kilda the Sunday game. Of course, we could get a five-day break into a Thursday night game vs Port the following week.

We're on top of the ladder. We're not here to experiment with our side.

As @Bring-Back-Powell said earlier, that won't stop the AFL from giving us a 5-day break. Brisbane last night played off a 5-day break (Saturday vs North, into Thursday vs Geelong).

Don’t know what to take from that game. Geelong were so bad they deserved to lose by 60+. Don’t be fooled by stats. They were smashed anywhere it mattered with a near full strength side. Brisbane wasn’t able to get that sort of transition going against us. Our forward line on paper is inferior to Geelong’s but we gave way more of a contest in our forward 50 than theirs did tonight and that makes a huge difference. That sort of form from Brisbane is scary though. I do not want to draw them in a final at the Gabba in week 1. They only have two more top 8 sides left this year and one is West Coast at the Gabba. They may feasibly only lose once more. Pressure is right on.

Herald Sun apparently reporting GC v Richmond will be on Thursday night, with Geel v Ess Friday night. I suspect we’re Saturday. If we’re not the night game there aren’t many good options left, but it could be Hawthorn v Port for Burgoyne’s 400th maybe. Would be fitting against his old team too.

A potential new record for "best set of ins" might be set today for West Coast. They've just recalled Jeremy McGovern, Luke Shuey, Tim Kelly, Brad Sheppard, Jack Petruccelle and Nathan Vardy.

Fair. There was always a debate to be had about whether we go in with another tall or not. I was of the view we should have put B Brown in, but I can understand going without. I'd make Jones the sub to give Chandler a full game at Casey.

Clearly not in the FD's eyes though. Jones doesn't play Spargo's style of game. He's not quick enough nor is he a good enough kick inside 50 to replace him. Jordon's playing a gut-running midfielder's role, including with some time on the wing. Not Jones' forte. Having said all that, Jones isn't playing right now in no small part because we only have one best 22 player injured (Tomlinson). That is unlikely to be the case for the rest of the year. Opportunities can, and likely will, arise.

Oh come on. In the last six matches we've played, and beaten, three top 8 sides (Sydney, the Dogs and Brisbane). We may not have scored 100 but we put 87 against the Dogs and 97 against the Lions, as well as 94 against Carlton and 95 against Adelaide. Four of our last six scores have been 87+. In Essendon's last six matches Essendon has played two top 8 sides (which happen to be the worst two, sitting 7th and 8th), and lost to one of them. The 140+ score you mention was against the bottom side sporting a 1-12 record. They've also in that time conceded 100 points twice, including 123 vs Richmond. Their highest score against a top 8 side all season has been 87 vs West Coast. If we've been "worked out to a degree", but that degree means we conceded 80 points to Collingwood (our second highest score against all year), I'm not sure that's something to be drastically worried about.

Out of interest, where do you get this stat from?

As I said earlier, there is no one size fits all approach. Just because you find it capable of living without social media doesn't mean everyone can live without it. And that's more so for those who already have it and for whom it already forms a substantial part of their life and their connection to their friends, family, news and the world in general.